There really is no place for a 93 with an 18x20 pattern in the modern game. Might as well play with a shovel.

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My daily racket is an 84 sq. in. with an 18x20 pattern. It's 370g, feels very lively and has enough power to push back a Babolat-swinging opponent all the way to Vladivostok. The catch is that you have to spend a few weeks learning to play. 93 would be pure luxury.

The original K-Blade tour was a gutless tinker toy, and this frame holds true to its heritage.

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Right on, J.

It took almost half an ounce of lead to make my KBT feel solid on contact. It ended up hitting pretty well after I got it dialed in, but if you've already got a Prestige, why bother trying to make a Blade hit like a Prestige?

It took almost half an ounce of lead to make my KBT feel solid on contact. It ended up hitting pretty well after I got it dialed in, but if you've already got a Prestige, why bother trying to make a Blade hit like a Prestige?

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Yup, I leaded the heck out of it, and my shots were better but it still felt like hell.

It's a good thing she's pretty. The sweet paintjob is the only redeeming quality of this frame. I had the displeasure of trying to hit with this thing for a couple of hours last night.

My initial response was confusion, followed quickly by the conclusion of "Are they f'ing kidding with this thing?"

The original K-Blade tour was a gutless tinker toy, and this frame holds true to its heritage.

Groundstrokes: The ball comes off at too low of an angle as compared to any other frame on the planet, and Wilson messed with the grip shape (WTF?!?!?!). So it took me a minute or two to figure out how to hit the ball over the net instead of into the ground. Once I figured out how to hit the ball over the net, I quickly realized that it wasn't going very fast, and didn't have very much spin on it. So I did the only logical thing; I swung faster, and faster, and faster. It was like pushing a boulder up a hill. Usually when one is made to feel like a mythological Greek by a racquet, he hopes to feel like Zeus, not King Sisyphus. This thing starts at the point of diminishing returns.

Not to be daunted I persisted in trying to figure out how to hit a representative ball with this thing, I mean, I can play pretty well with a wooden racquet, so I have got to be able to coerce a decent shot out of a modern racquet right? She was probably just being a bitter and frigid b'tch because of a former lover's spurn, and once I broke down her defenses with my natural charm, intelligence, and witty banter, I could surely get her to crack a smile right?

Well, on the backhand, I abandoned all thoughts of power and attack with my two-handed topspin turning it into a purely rally high trajectory topspin shot. I made sure to loop it very high over the net buying me time to recover court position and relying on the fact that the ball would be out of my opponent's strike zone (due mostly to it bouncing, and a little to it kicking) to prevent me from being run all over the court. When I got a short ball on the backhand, the only thing to be done was to slice approach and volley.

On the forehand I carried over the high bouncing topspin ploy, which also kind of worked. In an attempt to find some form of attacking forehand, I discovered that if I hit the ball way the heck out in front of me (like out in god's country) with a come out of my shoes type Dave Winfield worthy swing and a very shallow swingpath, I could generate a pretty fast, tightly spun, rifle shot trajectory ball.

So there it was, my baseline game with the Blade 93. Rally from the back-court with heavily topspun balls in high arcs moving them around and keeping them out of my opponent's strike zone until I got a short ball, and then either slicing and attacking the net with my backhand, or rifling a winner with my forehand and coming in behind it in case the ball came back.

To play from the back court with this thing you need placement, strategy, accuracy, patience, and variety. Ain't nobody got time for that *&^%$.

Groundstroke grade: D+

Volleys/Touch/Slice: The ball seems to do what you want it to, but it feels awful. With touch shots there is no rewarding sensation of knowing instantly "Oh, I got that one." that just brings forth that warm tingly feeling from within. That warm sensation is replaced with the mildly surprising sensation of "Hey! That one went in." because you didn't have a darned clue where the ball was going to end up when you hit it.

It feels like volleying with a cheap, non-stick frying pan that you would buy from the dollar store, and though the shots go in, and go where you want them to more often than not, you find yourself perpetually surprised every time it happens. Confidence inspiring at net is the last thing I would say this frame was. There is nothing like getting a short ball slicing your approach and sliding in behind it, then split-stepping while a little voice in the back of your mind queries "Is this actually going to work?".

Volley/Touch/Slice grade: C-

Serve: If nothing else, I have an arm. I've served around 120mph with a piece of junk wooden racquet I bought from a thrift store for $3. This thing laughed at me. So I tried harder. The racquet looked at me with the same look Andre the Giant would give an angry two year old who was punching him in the foot.

Serve grade: D-

A note on sweetspot, stiffness, and feel: They somehow made this racquet stiffer, but the ball didn't go any faster, which is counter-intuitive, and downright confusing, baffling, or flummoxing. The sweetspot is dead in the center of the racquet, except that almost nobody with long fast strokes hits the ball there, they hit the ball higher in the bed where this racquet is stiff, dead, and lame. Heaven forbid you hit the ball higher in the bed than that, or off center on a volley, either of those awards you a sensation similar to hitting a brick wall with an aluminum baseball bat. The frame was easily pushed around, twisted, or otherwise bullied on off-center hits, or attempts to short hop, or block groundstrokes.

Final word: If you absolutely must try this thing, string it as loose as you dare with the most lively poly or hybrid you can fathom, and take an unholy rip at the ball. I wish you the best of luck.

I see no reason why anyone who plays any sort of power game would want this racquet, and if you are one of those touch/variety/keep the ball in play types, though you may be able to play as well with this racquet as another, I can't help but think there has got to be something better for you out there.

J

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You do not like Luxilon 4g and now you do not like this Blade. Well, that is your honest opinion. In my case I use to play with the APD and now I can't stand it. So, anyhow, and out of curiousity, what racket and string do you use and/or prefer?

You do not like Luxilon 4g and now you do not like this Blade. Well, that is your honest opinion. In my case I use to play with the APD and now I can't stand it. So, anyhow, and out of curiousity, what racket and string do you use and/or prefer?

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Personally I prefer the box beam 90in Wilsons, but I like lots of frames.

Currently using BBO/ALU. I've used full ALU, and Ashaway Kevlar 16/ALU for years at a time.

This complements why I've seen a lot of 93s in the Racquets for Sale section.

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You have really seen alot of blade 93s in the for sale section lately? I had a difficult time finding them when I looked. I saw a few on the big auction website with a small grip size. I liked this racquet alot and want to add one to my collection. I hit a few serves with it and it seemed like they had really good pace..maybe its string sensitive....spin and pop on the ground strokes seemed great too. The original blade tour was pretty whimpy on the one handed backhand, but I was getting good spin and pace with this version...I think the demo I had was strung with a multi. Made me want to pick one up to play with it a bit.

Not in my opinion. Wood racquets were close to 14 oz. The PSL feels like a toothpick in comparison. Just way, way too light, even for a modern racquet. And the head is also too big compared to the 65 sq. in. heads of wood racquets.

Not in my opinion. Wood racquets were close to 14 oz. The PSL feels like a toothpick in comparison. Just way, way too light, even for a modern racquet. And the head is also too big compared to the 65 sq. in. heads of wood racquets.

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The difference between 90 and 95 is negligible. Furthermore, the dense string pattern is more similar than that of the open 6.1 90.

To me, 14 oz. wood rackets still feel lighter than my 12 oz. Prestige Pros, which is why I feel the PSL is similar. With that said, racket taste is completely subjective.

The difference between 90 and 95 is negligible. Furthermore, the dense string pattern is more similar than that of the open 6.1 90.

To me, 14 oz. wood rackets still feel lighter than my 12 oz. Prestige Pros, which is why I feel the PSL is similar. With that said, racket taste is completely subjective.

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If that were really true, everyone would be using 90s and not 95s. There is a BIG difference between a 90 and a 95, IMO.

And I don't understand how a 14 oz. racquet can possibly feel lighter to you than a 12 oz. racquet. A 14 oz. wood racquet feels like a club in my hand, whereas a 12 oz. modern racquet feels like a fly swatter in my hand by comparison. Did you just hold the wood racquet or did you actually play 5 hours with it?

If that were really true, everyone would be using 90s and not 95s. There is a BIG difference between a 90 and a 95, IMO.

And I don't understand how a 14 oz. racquet can possibly feel lighter to you than a 12 oz. racquet. A 14 oz. wood racquet feels like a club in my hand, whereas a 12 oz. modern racquet feels like a fly swatter in my hand by comparison. Did you just hold the wood racquet or did you actually play 5 hours with it?

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LOL, where's Jolly when you need him. BP, you're just faster and stronger than the rest of it. Why not get a 40 oz. custom wood racquet made with a 38 sq in. head? THINK of how amazing you'd be then!

LOL, where's Jolly when you need him. BP, you're just faster and stronger than the rest of it. Why not get a 40 oz. custom wood racquet made with a 38 sq in. head? THINK of how amazing you'd be then!

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No, no, you've got it all wrong. BP admits that he would play better with a different frame, it is just that he enjoys the challenge of playing with the heavier smaller headed frame. You see he doesn't play to win, but for the enjoyment of it, and he gets that enjoyment in a different way than most of the rest of us.

No, no, you've got it all wrong. BP admits that he would play better with a different frame, it is just that he enjoys the challenge of playing with the heavier smaller headed frame. You see he doesn't play to win, but for the enjoyment of it, and he gets that enjoyment in a different way than most of the rest of us.

Well, not even all the latest technology is enough to help Sam Stosur compensate for her lack of superior tennis skills, as she's proven to us as of late. I'd be much more impressed if she could get to #1 in the world using Federer's racquet.

No, no, you've got it all wrong. BP admits that he would play better with a different frame, it is just that he enjoys the challenge of playing with the heavier smaller headed frame. You see he doesn't play to win, but for the enjoyment of it, and he gets that enjoyment in a different way than most of the rest of us.

J

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That depends on what you mean by "better". I'd say that hitting a delicate drop shot that barely makes it over the net for a winner because you could actually feel the ball on your strings is a "better" shot than one that lands past the service line because you couldn't feel the ball at all.

And if tennis wasn't enjoyable, why bother playing? I mean, nobody is paying me to either play tennis nor to win tennis matches so why do it unless it was enjoyable? And like sex, enjoyment comes from the feel. If you couldn't feel anything, it would be pretty difficult to enjoy sex (or tennis).

LOL, where's Jolly when you need him. BP, you're just faster and stronger than the rest of it. Why not get a 40 oz. custom wood racquet made with a 38 sq in. head? THINK of how amazing you'd be then!

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Nah....I can just feel the difference between a 12 oz. racquet and a 14 oz. racquet. Just like a wrestler can feel the difference between wrestling a 120lb opponent and wrestling a 200lb opponent. :wink:

Nah....I can just feel the difference between a 12 oz. racquet and a 14 oz. racquet. Just like a wrestler can feel the difference between wrestling a 120lb opponent and wrestling a 200lb opponent. :wink:

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I see now why this guy has 35k posts....any time he has a thought about anything, he posts it

The BLX Pro Tour - which I believe is denser than the Blade 93 - got me addicted to extremely dense string patterns.

The secret is to find the right tension (which is lower than you expect). I prefer really stiff stringbeds like you, but I liked my leaded up BLX Pro Tour strung in the low 40s with Kevlar/Poly. Once I got the tension right (and the lead at 3 and 9 and handle to get up to my normal 13.5 oz specs while keeping the dwell time long enough), I could get some really cool high-rpm spin effects without the annoying high launch angle of more open-patterned frames.

It is kind of funny how he has the most posts in the review thread, and has never hit with the racquet, nor is he considering switching to it.

J

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Not true. Both you and Lilguy1456 have me beat by a mile. You have 20 posts in this thread, Lilguy1456 has 19 posts in this thread, while I only have 13 (not including this one).

FYI, I have hit with all the previous generations of the Blade Tour 93. The last BLX version was quite powerful and I could hit the cover off of the ball with it and serve bombs with it but it was stiff and I didn't like the feel. I passed because I could tell that playing with that racquet would eventually kill my elbow. (BTW, TW sent me the blacked-out prototype of the BLX version to playtest before it was released to the public in 2011.)

Not true. Both you and Lilguy1456 have me beat by a mile. You have 20 posts in this thread, Lilguy1456 has 19 posts in this thread, while I only have 13 (not including this one).

FYI, I have hit with all the previous generations of the Blade Tour 93. The last BLX version was quite powerful and I could hit the cover off of the ball with it and serve bombs with it but it was stiff and I didn't like the feel. I passed because I could tell that playing with that racquet would eventually kill my elbow. (BTW, TW sent me the blacked-out prototype of the BLX version to playtest before it was released to the public in 2011.)

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While this may be the case, my 20 posts in this thread represent about 5% of my total posting, which compared to the 20 you've made EACH day for 9 years...seems like child's play

While this may be the case, my 20 posts in this thread represent about 5% of my total posting, which compared to the 20 you've made EACH day for 9 years...seems like child's play

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Wrong again. My average over the past 9 years is only half that at 10 posts per day. And for the past two years or so I've reduced my posting and I'd go for a long time where I seldom post or have gone for periods of many months where I don't post anything at all. Besides, it's not my fault that I know more about tennis than the average poster here so I get prompted to post more. Many of my posts are replies to others here who ask me specific questions about relevant tennis topics.

Wrong again. My average over the past 9 years is only half that at 10 posts per day. And for the past two years or so I've reduced my posting and I'd go for a long time where I seldom post or have gone for periods of many months where I don't post anything at all. Besides, it's not my fault that I know more about tennis than the average poster here so I get prompted to post more. Many of my posts are replies to others here who ask me specific questions about relevant tennis topics.

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You're right. The more **** you post about your tennis preferences, the more you know. I should've been more impressed, as the # of posts in a forum clearly correlates to tennis knowledge. My B homie!

I'm thinking of moving to a new mid. I currently use the Wilson Steam BLX 100, primarily*. I basically want a stick that doesn't do-it-all for me so i can focus on my form and technique. The Blade 93's specs seemed like it would have been ideal.

Question: What are the alternatives to the Blade 93?

* I also fool around a bit with an old Prince 93" sized frame from when i was a child.

I'm thinking of moving to a new mid. I currently use the Wilson Steam BLX 100, primarily*. I basically want a stick that doesn't do-it-all for me so i can focus on my form and technique. The Blade 93's specs seemed like it would have been ideal.

Question: What are the alternatives to the Blade 93?

* I also fool around a bit with an old Prince 93" sized frame from when i was a child.

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Can you tell me a bit about your game, and what you are looking to get out of the racquet?

I'm thinking of moving to a new mid. I currently use the Wilson Steam BLX 100, primarily*. I basically want a stick that doesn't do-it-all for me so i can focus on my form and technique. The Blade 93's specs seemed like it would have been ideal.

Question: What are the alternatives to the Blade 93?

* I also fool around a bit with an old Prince 93" sized frame from when i was a child.

Can you tell me a bit about your game, and what you are looking to get out of the racquet?

J

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tl;dr... Used to play as a teen, now back after 15 years developing an all court game (clay & hardcourts; play 5 times a week, 50% with coaching). Looking for maximum control and feel over the ball. Intermediate player looking to become advanced.

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Full version...

Background:
I used to play as a teen then stopped for 15 years or so (used to play on hardcourts with a Prince Ace Face 93". 14 X 18 pattern, flexible graphite/fiberglass and pretty heavy 12+ oz, although it is headlight). Returned to the game 6 months ago on clay playing using the Steam. I'm back on hardcourts now (past month or so).

Style of play and level:
Probably sub 4.0 level at the moment as I'm getting my fitness and strokes back (rapidly). I can do all the strokes, but my consistency varies from day to day, i.e. some-days my form breaks down if i haven't been practicing.

I hit with an extreme eastern forehand (straight arm) and a one-handed backhand with an eastern grip. Compact backswing due to playing a lot of squash, but long/full follow through. When I was a kid i used to hit flat and try to rush the net mostly (sampras was an idol), but now I'm more of an all courter who tries to build points from the baseline and can hit topspin with any stick; the claycourt stint has helped me hit topspin and hang back sometimes, but i usually end up finishing points inside the court unless i'm hitting through my opponents (happens a lot at my lowly level).

I use more aggressive slices and sidespin-drop-shots than are customary at my level; i'm accurate at these and at the net. Most of my serves are quite spiny, but i have been increasing pace with every practice session.

What I'm looking for:
A gimmick-free headlight mid sized racquet which won't inhibit feel for touch shots and will allow me the most control over what i want the ball do to; Directional control and degree of spin/flat/slice control. I'm trying to develop and all-court style of play as i play on both hardcourts and clay at different times in the year.

The Steam is 100" and seems to launch the ball higher than my old Prince and is a bit underweight/unstable on off centre shots (will start modifying it soon). The prince gives me more control over ball height, but it lacks feels as it is ultra flexible and seems overly dampened. I play the same with either and can generate my own pace. I love headlight balances and am not a string breaker.

The first frame I am obliged to mention due to your post is the Volkl 10 series. I've not hit with the new Organix, however I am familiar with its ancestors.

What you are going to get is a well made racquet, that does everything fairly well, feels great, and hits the ball where you want it to go. It is a smoother, cleaner, more refined version of the Dunlops (No disrespect to the Dunlops, which are fine racquets, especially the 2&300 series and I would personally choose the Dunlop over a Volkl).

What's the downside? It isn't going to have the horsepower to hang with the big boys from the back court. Sure you can crack one now and again, but you just aren't going to be able to lean on someone until they tap out, or just consistently beat on them until they fall apart. But that doesn't sound like what you are trying to do, you sound like you want to get the ball to where you want it now, and worry about getting it there faster and with more hurt on it down the road. You also said you are an attacking player, so once you are inside the baseline, the frame is more than up to the task of ending the point.

Now that that obligatory recommendation is out of the way, what remains are the two big boys.

The Wilson 90, and the Prestige Mid.

The Prestige is a great, great, great racquet. It does everything well, swings like nothing, has consistent power, and sneaky power when you need to put a charge into one. Serves great, stable off the ground, feels incredible, ball goes wherever you want it to. A smooth, classy, authoritative frame. The thing means business, talks the talk, and walks the walk. It is the Wyatt Earp of racquets.

If the Prestige is the Wyatt Earp of racquets, the Wilson is the Doc Holliday. The thing is eminently capable, and has a mean streak to match it. When the &$% hits the fan, and you have got to blast your way out of the saloon, this is the frame you want by your side, there is nothing it can't do, and it does everything with vicious glee. If you can make this thing sing, the ball it can generate is flat out nasty. Non plus ultra. But if you can't, if you aren't up to the task, it is an unforgiving partner, and it will leave you to die in the street.